and marginally closer to Honiton than Dunkeswell is Farway Common. Slightly less than 600m of grass but any port in a storm....
A 12 mile glide? Honiton is more like 8 or 9 nm from Exeter but even with a 10 knot tailwind that is some glide. I don't know what the lift/drag ratio is on a 152 but let us assume 9:1, he probably should have been able to make it if he was above, say, 6500' (all other things being equal)
Obviously, I have no idea what happened here so no criticism is intended or implied.
[This message has been edited by Cahlibahn (edited 19 April 2001).]